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STRENUOUS ANIMALS 





























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44 The local black bears give him the glad hand.” (Page 4.) 


STRENUOUS 
ANIMALS Jl 


VERACIOUS TALES 

By EDWIN J. WEBSTEB 

ILLUSTRATED BY 
E. W. KEMBLE $ BOB ADDAMS 



I W 


NEW YORK • FREDERICK A. 
STOKES COMPANY * PUBLISHERS 



o 




LIBwawv «t CONGRESS 
Two «‘ooies Serwved 

OCT 3 1904 

y , Oooyrtgrht Entry 

fj >*« 

CLASS XXo. No. 

Vbtlo 

COPY B 


3T 


Copyright, 1901, 1904, 

By Frederick A. Stokes Company 


Published in September, 1904 


UNIVERSITY PRESS 
CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 


4 



CONTENTS 


Page 


The Imported Grizzly 3 

The Return of the Prodigal 19 

The Fate of the Balloonist Dog 37 

The Spectacled Eagle 55 

The Cable-Laying Ferret 75 

The Downfall of the Pet Frog 95 

The Oil-Loving Dogfish 113 


An Ursine Checker-Player 137 















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4 












































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ILLUSTRATIONS 


Page 

“ The local black bears give him the glad hand ” Frontispiece 


“ A wonder when it came to hunting ” 5 

“ The grizzly could n’t climb ” 6 

“ Chuckle to himself ” 11 

“ For about a minute there was a steady rain of 

grizzly ” 14 

“ More emphatic than pleasant ” 20 

“ What do I find helps me most ? ” 21 

Buster 23 

“ Buster had evidently been imbibing until he was 

tangled in his dates ” 25 

“A bee jag” . . 27 

“Bitters” 39 

“ New records in the heavy-weight dog sprinting line” 43 

“ Suicide was the only escape ” . 46 

“The old wolf” 47 

“ He made a dash over the fire ” 49 

“ Bitters was through with them ” 50 

“ Captured one of the eaglets ” 57 

“ Search for birds ” 62 

“ The eagle worked regularly ” 65 

“ Gold-bricked ” 68 

“ Put the spectacles on the eagle ” 70 

“ An eight-inch man ” 76 


/ 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


viii 

Page 

“ Pike down that hole ” 77 

“The beauty of a strenuous life ” 78 

“ Uncle Billy, accompanied by his trained ferret ” . . 79 

“It was my modest genius ” 84 

“Bit Uncle Billy on the hand” 89 

“ What could he do if he came in contact with an elec- 
tric battery ? ” 97 

“ A frog with an overcoat ” 99 

Tom Wilson 100 

“ Against your prize bulldog ” 101 

“ The look on Uncle Sammy’s face ” . 103 

“ The good man received an electric shock” .... 107 

“ Seed of some good in it ” 115 

“Tossed the dogfish out ” 119 

“ A little fishing stunt ” 125 

“ Will look to Capt. Enoch for their cod liver oil ” . . 129 

“ She was laying down the law ” 132 

“ A lonely furry baby” 138 

“ Ordinary bear tricks ” 139 

“ Followed by a big and unusually intelligent-looking 

bear” 143 

“ A grieved and hurt look ” ..150 

“ Leave my house forever ! ” 153 




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THE 

flBBBBC 


OM WILSON’S imported 
grizzly created lamentable 
havoc among Pike County 
animals during his short yet 
strenuous career,” said Deacon 
Todgers pensively. “ But in 
the end he fell a victim to 
the intelligence and scientific p 
knowledge of the dean of the local black 
bears. And when Tom Wilson came to look 
for the remains of his pet he found that 
nothing but a patient search over this and 
the surrounding counties could collect enough 
for a decent burial. 

“ Tom captured the grizzly out West when 
it was a cub and had trained it to hunt for 
him. When the bear was nearly full grown 
he brought him East and turned him loose 
on the innocent bears and wildcats of this 



4 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

county. The grizzly had been trained so 
that he wouldn’t eat anything but cooked 
meat. While active, he wasn’t an especially 
intelligent bear, and, not being able to cook 
his own food, he would turn the proceeds of 
his hunting expeditions in to Tom Wilson. 
Tom would deduct a liberal share for the 
benefit of the person he described as ‘ honest 
Tom Wilson.’ The rest he cooked and gave 
to the grizzly. Of course, Tom got all the 
furs, and the game was as good as a gold 
mine to him. I remonstrated with him on 
.the wickedness of it. 

“ 6 Your bear comes here a stranger from 
the West,’ I told Tom. ‘ The first time he 
wanders out in the woods the local black 
bears give him the glad hand, and try to be 
hospitable and make him feel at home. And 
how does he repay them for their kindness ? 
By outraging their tenderest feelings and 
converting happy, peaceable bears into furry 
corpses. You ’re teaching him to be a can- 
nibal bear. No good will come of money 
earned that way/ 


THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 5 


“ Tom only grunted that the furs seemed 
to sell for as much as if they were those 
of bears who had voluntarily committed 
suicide. So he let his grizzly continue his 
career of devastation unreproved. 

“ There ’s no denying the grizzly was a 
wonder when it came to hunting other ani- 



mals. He was a big Silvertip, and, despite 
their many admirable qualities, not a black 
bear in Pike County could stand up to him in 
a fight. In a little while game got so scarce 
that some of the boys proposed shooting the 
grizzly. But the bear was the rightful prop- 
erty of Tom Wilson, and I warned them not 
to do anything illegal. 

“ ‘ Man and boy/ I told them, ‘ I ’ve 


6 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 



known Pike County bears 
for years. And I ’ve got 
confidence in their ability 
take care of themselves. 
This grizzly bear game is a new 
one to them now, but as soon 
as they get a little used to it, they ’ll 
make this furry intruder wish he had 
remained in the far West.’ And subse- 
quent developments showed the truth 
of my prophecy. 

“ The next day, while I was walking 
through the woods, I heard something 
come tearing through the underbrush. 
Not wishing to imperil a valuable life 
I hustled to one side and awaited 
developments. In a minute 
a black bear broke through. 
After him came Tom Wil- 
son’s grizzly. The griz- 
zly was the faster 
sprinter, and a moment 
p more a funeral would 
have been all that was 



THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 7 

coming to the black bear. But just in time he 
struck a tree big enough to bear his weight. 
Up it he scrambled. The grizzly could n’t 
climb, so he stayed at the foot and growled. 

“ As soon as I took a good look at the 
black bear I recognized him. He was the 
oldest and most respected bear in the county, 
a bear who had lived there all his life and 
whom no one but that impudent Western 
grizzly would have thought of harming. 
And it was plain that, while he felt a little 
frightened, the main emotion of that vener- 
able bear was anger and a sense of outraged 
dignity. He, a bear who had withstood the 
wiles of Pike County hunters for years, to be 
ignominiously chased and treed in this man- 
ner by a strange bear nearly twice his size, 
but without one half his intelligence ! While 
at present the old black bear was princi- 
pally occupied with keeping out the way of 
the grizzly, I felt certain he would have ample 
revenge in the end. 

“ 6 Unless I am mistaken in the character 
of that venerable bear,’ I said to myself, 


8 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

c swift bumps and painful experiences will 
teach Mr. Grizzly to regret he meddled with 
him.’ 

“ That afternoon I went out into the 
lot back of my house to blow up some 
stumps with nitro-glycerine. I had the 
glycerine in a can, and, as I had use for it, 
would pour out a little into a small pan. I 
had been at work only a few minutes when 
I looked up, and there was that same black 
bear watching me with an expression of the 
most intent interest. He had evidently 
stayed up in the tree until the grizzly had 
grown tired and then had come down with 
revenge in his heart. I knew that kindly 
old black bear would n’t harm me, so I went 
on blowing up stumps without paying any 
particular attention to him. 

“ Pretty soon the bear wandered over to 
the can of nitro-glycerine. He sniffed at it. 
Then he took a taste. Nitro-glycerine has a 
sort of sweet taste, but I was surprised at 
the look of joy which spread over that bear’s 
intelligent countenance. 


THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 9 

“ ‘ You had better leave that stuff alone/ 
I warned him. ‘ Nitro-glycerine isn’t the 
proper health food for black bears. If you 
should swallow some of it and then happen 
to stumble or jar yourself, your honorable 
career would be brought to a sudden and 
expansive finish.’ 

“ Maybe that worthy old bear did n’t 
understand every word I said, but he cer- 
tainly gathered in my meaning. His heart 
was set on having that nitro-glycerine, how- 
ever, even if he did n’t intend to use it him- 
self. But he was a moral bear, a bear of 
good principles, and he felt it would n’t be 
right to take my glycerine without giving 
me something in return. He gave one more 
longing look at the explosive and then 
piked off to the woods as fast as he could 
go. 

“ At first I was considerably puzzled to 
account for the actions of that black bear. 
He certainly knew too much to eat the nitro- 
glycerine, and I could n’t think of any use 
that even an animal of his wisdom could put 


10 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

it to. Then I remembered the looks of 
hatred he had cast at that grizzly when up 
the tree. 

66 6 He ’s preparing some kind of a sur- 
prise party for that grizzly/ I thought, ‘ and 
by the time Mr. Grizzly recovers from the 
surprise there won’t be enough left of him 
for an inquest.’ 

“ About half an hour later the black bear 
returned, carrying in his mouth the biggest 
and fattest coon I had seen for months. He 
laid the coon down by the can of nitro- 
glycerine. Then he looked at me in an 
inquiring manner. I saw what he meant. 

“ ‘ It ’s a fair exchange/ I said. 4 Leave 
the coon, take the glycerine, and try and 
make life interesting for that big grizzly.’ 

“ I was mighty curious to know what plan 
that good old bear had in his head, so I fol- 
lowed him. He carried the can of nitro- 
glycerine to one of the paths frequented by 
the grizzly in his excursions for the purpose 
of teaching Pike County animals the strenu- 
ous life. Every little while the black bear 


THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 11 

would stop and chuckle to himself at the 
thought of the surprise he was preparing for 
his enemy. But he was mighty careful to 
put down the can of nitro-glycerine on these 
occasions, for he was a wise bear and ap- 
preciated that gleeful chuckles and nitro- 
glycerine don’t go well 
together. When he reached 
the path used by the griz- 
zly he carefully opened up 
the can and left it standing 
in the middle of the path. 

Then he went quite a dis- 
tance down the path to 
where there was a sharp 
curve. Just around the 
curve the black bear rolled 
a good-sized * rock, so that 
it stood directly in the path. A person or 
animal running swiftly down the path and 
not knowing the rock was there would be 
certain to smash into it and get considerable 
of a jar. Having laid his trap, the black 
bear hurried back and hid himself about half 



12 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

way between the rock and the place where 
he had placed the can of nitro-glycerine. 

“ Along towards evening the grizzly came 
hulking down the path. He saw the nitro- 
glycerine, smelled of it, and then tasted it. 
Grizzlies have quite a sweet tooth, and, 
after having once tasted the stuff, that big 
bear couldn’t rest until he had eaten every 
mouthful. When he finished he was a 
perfect example of an explosive bear. 

“ ‘ If anything jars your feelings or 
stomach, my furry friend,’ I remarked, but 
in low tones, ‘ you ’ll enter the bear happy 
hunting grounds in detachments.’ 

“ As soon as the big grizzly had eaten the 
explosive, the black bear made his appear- 
ance down the path and began to send out 
challenging growls. The grizzly looked up, 
and for a moment seemed stunned at the 
impudence of the smaller bear in growling 
at him. But the black bear did n’t seem 
frightened. Instead, he stayed in the path 
and made insulting remarks in the bear 
language, and if he had n’t been such a ven- 


THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 13 

erable and respectable bear, one would have 
said he was making faces at the grizzly. 
The grizzly did n’t lose any time, but started 
down the path with the evident intention of 
giving the black bear a life lesson on the 
evils of insulting bigger bears. 

“ As soon as he saw the grizzly was fairly 
under way, the black bear turned and scam- 
pered down the path as fast as his short legs 
could carry him. The grizzly was gaining 
on him, but I noticed the black bear had 
allowed himself sufficient start so that there 
would be a good interval between them 
when Mr. Grizzly reached the rock. When 
he rounded the curve the black bear dodged 
into the bushes at one side. The grizzly 
was going too fast to turn, and of course 
he never suspected there was a big rock in 
the middle of his well-vmrn path, and he 
smashed into it at full speed. 

“ For about a minute there was a steady 
rain of grizzly. When it stopped the black 
bear emerged from the bushes. He had been 
considerably jarred himself by the explosion 


14 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

of the loaded grizzly. But he did n’t mind 
that and was on hand with a bear gloat 
that it did a person’s heart good to see. 
He fairly danced about the place where his 



“For about a minute there teas a steady rain of grizzly.” 


enemy had last been seen. I never saw a 
look of more perfect content on the face of 
any one, man or bear. 

“ ‘ Grizzly bears are all right in their 
uncultured way/ that good bear seemed 


THE IMPORTED GRIZZLY 15 

to be saying to himself. c But when they 
run against nitro-glycerine and the intel- 
ligence of Pike County bears, an explo- 
sion is the only funeral sermon coming to 
them.’ 

“ Tom Wilson was considerably worried 
when his pet hunter did n’t return home 
that night. The next day he started 
out to find him. He followed the grizzly’s 
trail to where the explosion had occurred. 
Then he could n’t understand what had 
happened. 

“ ‘ I ’ve heard of explosive tempers,’ he 
said, puzzled-like, ‘ and my pet certainly 
had one. But this is the first time I 
ever heard of one tearing a hole in the 
ground.’ 

“ I explained what had happened. Tom 
could hardly restrain his grief at the thought 
of his grizzly’s fate. 

“ ‘ His life was one long eareer of victory,’ 
said Tom with tears in his eyes, ‘but even 
a grizzly can’t stand a diet of nitro-glycerine 
and hard knocks. I would inter him with 


16 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

honors if I could. But I would have to 
celebrate his obsequies over the bigger part 
of this county. And I ’m not willing to 
conduct continuous performance funerals, 
even for the sake of my cherished pet.’ ” 



9 


2 







































kNCLE TOMMY WILSON, 

who used to own the farm next 
to mine out in Iowa, 

f\Was heart-broken when 
Buster, his head bee, 

abandoned him,” said 

• Squire Wilkins reflec- 
tively to the crowd at the corner grocery 
store. “ And when Buster returned to his 
duties, Uncle Tommy wept tears of pure joy, 
and would have fallen on his neck, if a bee’s 
neck was built for such performances. 

“ Buster was the largest bee in Uncle 
Tommy’s hives, and, although he fell from 
grace once, he was in the main a bee that 

knew his duty and attended to it. Every 

morning he would see that all the bees left 


20 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


the hives, routing out the lazy ones and 
making them do their share of work. All 
day he would sort of supervise things, and the 
bee that shirked, or didn’t return at night 
with his load of honey, was pretty sure to 
hear from Buster in a manner that was more 
emphatic than pleasant. Then he would see 
that the queen bee was properly fed, and in 



More emphatic than pleasant.” 


other ways he acted like a bee who had his 
employer’s interests at heart. Uncle Tommy 
thought the world of Buster. 

“ ‘ There ’s a bee that ’s assimilated the 
bee “ Message to Garcia ” and lives up to it,’ 
Uncle Tommy used to say in tones of honest 
pride. ‘ I can go away from home for a 
week at a time and never need to worry 
about my hives, or honey, or the condition 


THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN 21 


of my bees. Buster is n’t anything especial 
to look at, but when it comes to bee brains 
he has any other bee in the State of Iowa 
left at the post.’ 

“But Buster had his weakness and fell 
through over-indulgence. 

“ When the weather began to 
get a little cool the bees naturally 
let up some on their work. Uncle 
Tommy always was an enthusi- 
ast on the subject of having 
other people work hard and 
he wasn’t pleased when his 
bees took it easy. After think- 
ing the matter over he hit on 
a plan to spur their flag- 
ging energies. 

“ ‘ When I ’m feeling a 
bit worn out,’ said Uncle 
Tommy reflectively, ‘what do I find helps 
me most ? ’ 

“ ‘ A big drink of red eye/ I answered 
prompt like. ‘ And it ’s often you feel worn 
out/ 



What do I find helps me 
most ? ” 


22 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

« ‘ Don’t jeer at the feebleness of a tired 
and worthy old man,’ replied Uncle Tommy 
in grieved tones. ‘ I ’m meditating a scheme 
which may revolutionize the bee industry in 
the State of Iowa. The weather is getting 
cool, and naturally my bees are beginning to 
think it is time for them to ease up in their 
labors. But as the price of honey is advanc- 
ing, it seems to me that it will be for the 
benefit of their worthy owner if they redouble 
their efforts. At the same time it would 
keep them from feeling lazy and have a com- 
mendable effect on their moral nature. If I 
give my bees a little stimulant each morning 
they will be anxious to work and won’t be 
in any danger of catching cold in the damp 
dew.’ 

u So Uncle Tommy would put a little 
saucer full of whiskey and water in front of 
the hive each morning. The bees would 
take a sip before they began work, and the 
result was renewed energy on the part of the 
bees and an increase in the honey crop. But 
after a while Uncle Tommy noticed that 


THE PKODIGAL’S RETURN 23 

Buster would come back to the hive three or 
four times a day and buzz around on the 
inside as if he was inspecting things. Then 
he would take a sip of the whiskey and water 
and fly back to see that the other bees were 
doing their share of the work. Uncle Tommy 
was pleased at what he considered Busters 
interest in the business. 

“ i There’s a bee among a thousand,’ Uncle 
Tommy used to say. ‘ A bee who has his 
owner’s interests at heart, 
not a mere eye-servant 
bee. Buster knows that I trust 
him to see that everything is 
all right about the hive, and 
instead of putting in the whole 
day roaming the fields, he comes humming 
back and makes a personal inspection so as 
to be sure nothing has gone wrong. A per- 
son can't help respecting a bee like that.’ 

“ I had been watching Buster, and it didn’t 
seem to me that it was simply a desire to 
inspect the interior of the hive that called 
him from the fields. 



24 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


“ ‘ I notice that every time your pet bee 
comes back he makes a dive for the whiskey 
and water/ I told Uncle Tommy. ‘ He cer- 
tainly is a bee of talents, but he ’s not what 
you would call a blue-ribbon bee. It ’s my 
opinion that his inspection of the hive is 
a little bluff on the part of the honored 
Buster/ 

“ Uncle Tommy was more grieved than if 
I had attacked his religion. 

“ ‘ Don’t abuse Buster, Squire/ he answered 
plaintively. ‘ I don’t like to hear him slan- 
dered. If he takes a little sip of stimulants 
it’s only for the purpose of gaining new 
vitality and working harder.’ 

“ While Buster seemed able to attend to 
his work, it was evident that he was getting 
to be the proprietor of a thirst which would 
have been a credit to a bee twice his weight. 
Each day he wanted more whiskey and water. 
Finally he fell from grace. The day had 
been warmer than usual and Buster had been 
hitting the stimulant game hard. Just be- 
fore supper Uncle Tommy strolled over to 


V 



“Buster had evidently been imbibing until he teas tangled 
in his dates.” 





THE PRODIGALS RETURN 27 

the hive. The sight that met his eyes was 
a sad one. 

“ Buster had evidently been imbibing until 
he was tangled in his dates. It was time for 
the bees to quit work and turn in for the 
night, but Buster thought it was morning 
and time to begin work. He had taken his 
stand in front of the entrance to the hive, 
and every time a bee tried 
to go in Buster would tackle 
him and drive the poor, per- 
plexed bee away. But he had 
such a cargo that he could n’t quite 
“A bee jag.” control his legs, and every little 
while he would stumble and fall off 
the shelf in front of the hive. Uncle 
Tommy at first thought his pet was sick. 
Then he noticed all the whiskey and water 
was gone, and he realized that it was a bee 
jag, not illness, that caused Buster’s queer 
actions. He was mad clear through. 

“ ‘ A bee that I have trained, and trusted, 
and praised,’ said Uncle Tommy indignantly. 

‘ And now you go and make an exhibition of 



28 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

yourself in this way. What will the other 
bees think of your actions ? How much 
sharper than a serpent’s tooth is a renegade 
bee!’ 

“ Buster seemed to understand the tenor 
of Uncle Tommy’s remarks, and he made a 
big effort to brace up. It was a pretty suc- 
cessful one, too, and except for a little shaki- 
ness in his legs no one would have suspected 
the prize bee was carrying such a load. Then 
Buster crawled up to Uncle Tommy, penitent 
like, and tried to make him understand that 
he was sorry he had sinned. But Uncle 
Tommy was too angry at the evil conduct of 
Buster to respond to his penitent advances. 
Instead he just brushed the bee to the ground. 
Buster flew up again to the shelf in front of 
the hive, but Uncle Tommy brushed him 
off. 

“ 6 This is a hive for respectable bees,’ said 
Uncle Tommy severely. 6 No buzzing tanks, 
or bees who disgrace themselves by miscalcu- 
lating their capacity, are allowed in this hive. 
Seek some bee gold cure, and don’t come 


THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN 29 

near me again until you are thoroughly 
reformed.’ 

“ Buster made a couple more ineffectual 
attempts to crawl into the hive, or on Uncle 
Tommy’s hand, and tell him how sorry he 
was. But Uncle Tommy would have noth- 
ing to do with him, and at last Buster gave 
a pathetic little buzz and flew away in 
a mighty saddened manner. I told Uncle 
Tommy he had been too severe on his pet 
bee. 

“ ‘ Who was it that put whiskey and water 
in front of the hive of those virtuous bees, 
and so led Buster to fall from grace ? ’ I asked 
him. ‘ You were the guilty party, not that 
poor, innocent little bee, who in his desire to 
work for you took a little too much stimu- 
lant. Supposing you were turned out of 
your happy home every time you made a 
similar mistake ? It would be a good imita- 
tion of a continuous performance vaudeville. 
You ought to have remembered your own 
failings and been lenient towards the abused 
Buster.’ 


30 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

u 6 But he was the foreman of the bees/ 
objected Uncle Tommy. 6 A bee holding 
a responsible position. I would soon have 
every bee on my farm drunk if I hadn’t 
reproved him, — although perhaps I was a 
little harsh in driving him away.’ 

“ After this everything seemed to go 
wrong with Uncle Tommy’s bee industry. 
The bees had fallen into the habit of look- 
ing up to Buster and following his direc- 
tions about the work, and now that he was 
not there to keep an eye on them they 
grew more shiftless every day. Then Uncle 
Tommy supplied them with more stimulants. 
The bees were perfectly willing to imbibe all 
the booze he would put in front of the hives, 
but when it came to hard work they were n’t 
in the entry list. Uncle Tommy’s supply 
of honey kept falling off, and to add to 
the bitterness of the situation the market 
price was rising. The good man was in 
despair. 

“ ‘ It ’s a judgment on me,’ he said plain- 
tively, ‘ for being too harsh to the departed 


THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN 31 

Buster. If I could once more hear his joyful 
buzz I would welcome him with open arms 
and not protest if he rolled up a jag every 
day. Even if Buster was a little thirsty, he 
always took care that the rest of the bees 
attended to business and did n’t imbibe more 
than was good for them. A few more weeks 
of the present regime will turn my former 
band of industrious workers into a collection 
of hobo bees. If they keep on the way they 
are going, I wouldn’t be surprised to see 
them growing long beards and voting the 
populist ticket.’ 

“ One evening when Uncle Tommy was 
wandering about his orchard in a disconso- 
late manner he noticed a big bee hying near 
him. The bee appeared to be doubtful 
whether to approach. Uncle Tommy did n’t 
pay much attention to him, supposing it 
was some belated bee that had n’t re- 
turned to the hive with the rest. But 
the strange bee kept hying nearer and 
nearer, and at last Uncle Tommy saw it 
was the long lost Buster. Uncle Tommy 


32 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

was the happiest bee owner in the State 
of Iowa. 

“ ‘ Come to my arms/ he exclaimed, as if 
the bee could understand him. ‘ Return to 
the man who owns you and the past will be 
forgiven . 1 

“ Buster could n’t exactly come to Uncle 
Tommy’s arms, bees not being built on that 
plan. But he flew over and lit on Uncle 
Tommy’s shoulder and then buzzed about 
his head in a manner that showed how glad 
he was to be home again. 

“ The next day Buster routed out every 
bee and saw that they all turned in and 
did their little stunt gathering honey. In 
the afternoon I called on Uncle Tommy. 
I found him out in the field, watching his 
. bees gather honey. The busiest bee in 
the whole bunch was the reformed Buster. 
Uncle Tommy’s face wore a look of placid 
content. 

“ ‘ The prodigal has returned,’ he said, 
‘ and your Uncle Tommy’s bee industry is 
once more flourishing. But, more than the 


THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN 33 

honey, I value the reform in the Buster 
character. When I offered him some whis- 
key and water this morning he turned his 
back on it. There ’s a bee of moral char- 
acter, a bee that could be trusted in a 
distillery/ ” 


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ELE man who 
thinks wild 
animals can’t 
reason because 
they have n’t 
had a college 
education is 
likely in the 
end to acquire 
sudden and ex- 
pensive experience,” observed the old guide 
pensively. “ An old wolf may not under- 
stand all the principles of chemistry, but he 
has a knowledge of the world that amounts 
to the same thing. It was an undue con- 
tempt for the intelligence of wild creatures 



38 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

that plucked the laurels from the brow of 
Bitters, old Jedekiah Williams’ famous hunt- 
ing dog. 

“ The wolves have been pretty well cleaned 
out of the North Woods now. A few years 
ago they were more abundant and consider- 
able of a nuisance. The State paid a bounty, 
the fur sold for a fair price, and J edekiah was 
making good money at the wolf hunting 
game. He used to track the wolves with 
dogs, and then when the wolf was cornered 
shoot it. But there was one part of the 
business he looked on with growing distaste, 
and that was the fact that Jedekiah Williams 
had to do considerable trudging through the 
woods to capture each wolf. 

“ ‘ Dogs being the natural enemies of 
wolves,’ Jedekiah said thoughtfully to me 
one day, ‘ it seems as if there ought to be 
some way in which they could be taught to 
kill the wolves and bring the bodies back 
home. In that way the time I spend blithely 
chasing over hills and dales after big gray 
wolves might be devoted to the advancement 


THE BALLOONIST DOG 39 

of the human race, or at any rate to the 
comfort of Jedekiah Williams. And there 
would be good money in it for me/ he 
added pensively. 

“ ‘ You have no call to blame your poor 
dogs/ I told him. ‘ They ’re willing to catch 
wolves and bring the bodies home. The 
trouble is that the dogs that can run fast 
enough to catch a wolf are n’t strong enough 
to kill one, while the fighting 
dogs that could kill a wolf 
can’t catch one.’ 

“ While Jedekiah and I 
were discussing the problem, 

Bitters came strolling up. 

Bitters was a cross between a bulldog and a 
wolf-hound. When it came to a fight Bitters 
was in a class all by himself. But he was too 
heavily built to be much good as a hunting 
dog, unless a wolf had been cornered so it 
could n’t run away. Then Bitters would sail 
in and give an example of how the strenuous 
life ought to be led. And when he had fin- 
ished his lesson it was a case of another job 



40 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

for some wolf undertaker. Jedekiah looked 
at Bitters in a saddened sort of way. 

“ ‘ That noble creature lias the jaws and 
the disposition to carry out my labor-saving, 
wolf-killing scheme/ said Jedekiah, ‘ but his 
body is too heavy for his legs. If Bitters 
was only a sprinter he could make things 
interesting for the coyest and most retiring 
wolf in the North Woods/ 

“ The next day Jedekiah came over to my 
house with the joyous, triumphant air of a 
man who has solved a great problem. 

“ ‘ If you wanted to soar above the earth/ 
inquired Jedekiah anxiously, ‘ what means 
would you use ? ’ 

“ I was quite a bit puzzled at his question, 
never having given the earth-soaring problem 
much consideration. Finally I said I thought 
I should use a balloon. 

“‘To be sure/ replied Jedekiah in relieved 
tones, ‘that’s just what I was thinking 
myself. Now the trouble with Bitters is 
that he is too heavy. I ’m thinking that 
if he had a few balloons attached to him 


THE BALLOONIST DOG 41 

he would be more efficient as a hunting 
dog/ 

“ ‘ And do you mean to send that poor dog 
up in the air attached to a balloon ? ’ I in- 
quired, puzzled like. 4 Looked at as a dog 
Bitters is a big-jawed success. But he can 
never make good in the r61e of a soaring 
bird.’ 

“ 6 1 don’t mean to send him clear up in 
the air/ said J edekiah, sort of impatiently ; 
‘ it ’s wolves, not humming birds, that I am 
after. And with the help of a few balloons 
and training at the hands of your Uncle 
Jedekiah, Bitters will be able to make life 
interesting for the most blase of wolves/ 

“ The next time Jedekiah went to the 
city he had a couple of small balloons made. 
They were about the size of ordinary toy 
balloons, but made in the shape of sausages. 
When he returned he filled the balloons with 
gas and put them on Bitters, placing them 
around his body near the fore and hind legs. 
At first Bitters did n’t take kindly to the 
game. But after a. little he noticed how 


42 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

much lighter they made him and how much 
easier it was for him to walk and run, and 
he went tiptoeing around like a dog that has 
recovered his lost doghood. Then Jedekiah 
set to work teaching Bitters to run at the 
top of his speed. It took the dog a little 
while to get accustomed to the change in his 
gravity, but after a few days he began to 
establish new records in the heavyweight dog 
sprinting line, until there wasn’t a dog in 
the county that could outrun him. 

“ Jedekiah was a pleased and proud man. 
‘ It ’s intellect, not smokeless powder, that 
makes a great hunter in this century,’ he 
said complacently. 

“ As soon as Jedekiah judged Bitters’ edu- 
cation was complete he took him to the 
woods and turned him loose on the trail of a 
wolf. 

“‘Go forth,’ he said impressively, as if 
Bitters could understand him, ‘ to the woods 
and earn glory for yourself and bounties for 
your owner by extending the blessings of 
civilization to benighted wolves. But be 



“New records in the heavy-weight dog sprinting line.” 





THE BALLOONIST BOO 45 

sure you bring the bodies back home. For I 
need the money/ he added, feelingly. 

“ There ’s no denying Bitters was a success 
at the wolf-hunting game. With the handi- 
cap of his weight taken off by the balloons 
he could outrun any wolf. When he caught 
up to the wolf Bitters would sail right into 
him. His bulldog blood stood him in good 
stead when it came to the fighting part. 
Ordinarily a wolf is more than a match for a 
dog. But painful experiences soon convinced 
the wolves in that part of the district that 
suicide was their only escape from death at 
the jaws of Bitters, when once he got started 
on their trail. Uncle Jedekiah was in a 
state of perpetual gloat. 

“ ‘ There is n’t a lighter-bodied or lighter- 
hearted dog in the State than Bitters/ 
Jedekiah used to say, expanding his chest. 
‘ Regular work, good meals, and the reward 
of an approving conscience ! If the Humane 
Society appreciated what I have done for 
that dog’s happiness they would send me a 
purse of gold and a bunch of medals. And I 


46 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


can’t say that I ’ve lost any money at 
the game either.’ 

“ After a few months it got so 
that the wolves in that part 
of the State appreciated Bit- 
ters’ abilities and began to 
make themselves scarce. There ^ 
was one old wolf, though, who 
had lived in the woods all his life I 
and plainly had n’t any inten- c ^ 
tion of being driven out, even 
by a balloon-assisted dog. Bit- „ ? 

ters having done his duty in 
clearing out the other wolves, I 
thought it was about time for 
Jedekiah to take a hand 
the game with his rifle. 

“ ‘ Bitters and his 
balloons are wonders 
in their way,’ I told 
Jedekiah. ‘But he 
is only a dog after all. 

That wolf means to 
stay here until he is „ 8ulclde ^ 

was the only escape .* 



THE BALLOONIST DOG 47 

killed. If you help your noble dog you can 
soon corner the furry marauder. But if you 
leave the job to the unassisted intelligence 
of Bitters you will be mourning the downfall 
and disgrace of the noble creature.’ 



“The old wolf.” 


“At first Jedekiah was inclined to listen 
to my words of kindly warning. He got out 
his rifle and started to accompany Bitters on 
a hunting expedition after the old wolf. 


48 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

Then he noticed that there had been quite a 
fall of snow, making the walking bad, and 
Jedekiah changed his mind. 

“ ‘ It would hurt the feelings of my es- 
teemed Bitters,’ he said decidedly, putting 
up his rifle and returning to his seat in front 
of the fire, ‘if I should go with him. He 
would think I was casting reflections on his 
ability to kill any wolf in the North Woods.' 

“ So Jedekiah sent Bitters after the wolf. 
Bitters, having unlimited confidence in his 
own ability, was perfectly willing to under- 
take the job. 

“ But the old wolf had been taking a whirl 
at the thinking game on his own account. 
He evidently appreciated that it was the bal- 
loons which enabled Bitters to make such 
speed, and somehow he also appreciated the 
fact that a little touch of fire would destroy 
the balloons. And the sly old animal laid 
his plans accordingly. 

“ The wolf showed himself as soon as Bit- 
ters was clear of the house. Bitters gave 
chase. The wolf ran up the side of the 


THE BALLOONIST DOG 49 


mountain, heading to where a party of lum- 
bermen had left a camp fire burning. He 
made a dash over the fire, which was only 
blazing slightly. Bitters was close behind 
him and went over the fire, too. Then there 
was a little puff, a blaze of flame as the little 
balloons took fire, and Bitters seemed to lose 



“ 3e made a dash over the fire.” 


interest in the chase after the wolf. Instead 
he rolled over on the snow and howled. Then 
he looked at the charred shreds of what had 
been the covers of the balloons. He was the 
most astonished and disgusted dog in the 
North Woods. And the old wolf sat down 

in the snow a few yards away and you could 
4 


50 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


tell from the expression on his face that he 
was just laughing at Bitters. 

“ As soon as Bitters had recovered from his 
surprise he started after the wolf again. But 
without his balloons he was just an ordinary, 
rather heavy dog when it came to running. 



The wolf simply played tag with the out- 
raged Bitters, until Jedekiah’s pet abandoned 
the hunt in disgust and sadly returned home. 
As soon as Jedekiah saw the remnants of the 
balloons he knew what had happened. 

“ ‘ Never mind, my abused and faithful 
assistant/ said ‘ Jedekiah consolingly, ‘I’ll 


THE BALLOONIST DOG 51 

get some new balloons for you. In future 
you will know enough to keep away from 
flames.’ 

“ But when Jedekiah tried to put two 
other balloons on Bitters the abused dog 
backed away, growling and snarling and 
showing his teeth. Balloons might go with 
other dogs, but as for Bitters, it was evident 
that he was through with them. At last 
Jedekiah gave up the attempt in despair. 

“ ‘ Talk about a burnt child dreading fire/ 
said the old man sadly, ‘ it is n’t a circum- 
stance to the way a singed dog will sidestep 
toy balloons/ ” 




















rr^ 



*HEN it grew near 
the end of the 
season, the last 
year I was np in 
the woods,” said 
the old guide 
reminiscently, “ Tom Ferguson used to hang 
around the camp, a mighty saddened and 
disconsolate man. The winter was coming 
on, when there would be no more hunters 
to guide, and, ponder over the subject as he 
would, Tom couldn’t see any escape from 
going to work. This cut him to the heart. 


56 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ ‘ Here are these woods full of lazy wild 
animals/ Tom said one day bitterly, ‘ any 
one of which would, or at any rate ought, to 
be proud of the privilege of working for 
honest old Tom Ferguson. But how to 
bring that fact home to their benighted minds 
is a problem. Now, look at that eagle/ he 
added in saddened tones, pointing to a big, 
bald-headed eagle that was circling over our 
heads, ‘ that bird flies out from his nest in the 
morning, captures a duck, and then does 
nothing more for three or four hours. Shift- 
less, worthless creature, he would be happier 
and healthier if he put in eight hours a day 
steadily and then turned in the extra birds 
he caught to Tom Ferguson.’ 

“ ‘ The eagle is the national bird/ I re- 
sponded severely. 1 Such talk as yours 
comes pretty near being treason. And it is 
a slander on the character of respectable 
eagles. Just at this time of year an eagle 
does n’t have to work hard. But when win- 
ter really sets in there is n’t a better feathered 
example of the strenuous life than the abused 

























































































































































































































































THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 59 

eagle. Even with his eyesight he sometimes 
has to fly miles and miles before he can see 
an unwary duck or heron/ 

“My words seemed to make quite an 
impression on Tom, and he pondered over 
them in his solemn manner all that evening. 
The next day he was hired as guide by a 
man who has quite a name as an optician. 
All morning it was evident Tom had some 
idea in his mind, and when they were eating 
lunch he broke out. 

“ ‘ Is there any way in which an eagle’s 
eyesight could be improved ? ’ Tom asked 
sort of doubtfully. 

“The optician was considerably surprised 
at the question. 

“ ‘ I live in the city,’ he said, ‘ and if you 
think eagles are in the habit of strolling into 
my consulting room and asking for a pair of 
spectacles, or to having their eyes examined, 
you are off in your calculations. Still, if you 
know of some ailing eagle who has trouble 
in reading the Eagles' Evening News , send 
him to me and I will do my best for him/ 
he added sort of sarcastically. 


60 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ But Tom was in earnest about the mat- 
ter and asked if an eagle that had acquired 
the habit of using field glasses would n’t be 
able to see farther than if he used his naked 
eye. 

“ ‘ Probably he would/ replied the optician 
in rather doubtful tones, ‘but have the eagles 
in these woods exhibited any yearning for 
field glasses ? You know more about them 
than I do, but it don’t seem to me that there 
will be much of a field for the Eagle Field 
Glass industry you are contemplating. The 
average eagle is pretty well satisfied with his 
eyesight as it is.’ 

“ Tom was positive he had hit upon a great 
labor-saving scheme, so he was n’t the man 
to give it up. He sent down to the city and 
ordered a pair of small but powerful field 
glasses. Then he climbed up to an eagle’s 
nest that he had had his eye on for some 
time and captured one of the eaglets. Tom 
brought the eaglet home and began training 
it. The first thing was to get the eaglet to 
look on him as his friend and to regard the 


THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 61 

Ferguson house as his home. This was n’t 
hard, for Tom fed him regularly and, despite 
his mean traits, there ’s no denying Tom 
Ferguson had great and undoubted gifts 
when it came to training animals or birds. 
After the eagle was tame Tom began to teach 
him to use the field glasses. Tom would put 
the glasses to his own eyes and take a general 
survey of the country, the bird watching him 
closely. Then he would hold the glasses in 
front of the eaglet. Eagles are imitative 
birds, and mighty intelligent, and it was n’t 
long before Tom’s pet recognized that he 
could see a good deal farther with the field 
glasses. Then Tom hung the glasses about 
the bird’s neck and in a little while the eagle 
got so that he would pick the glasses up in 
one claw, hold them to his eyes, and spend 
hours exploring the country round about. 

“ By the time the eagle reached this stage 
he was pretty well grown and the winter had 
really set in. Tom judged it was time to 
put his protege’s training to some practical 
advantage. 


62 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 



66 6 Scientific instruments, loving 
care, and training under the eye of 
the best guide in the North 
Woods have been lavished on 
you/ he said to the eagle. 
‘Seek the freedom of the 
skies and search for birds. 
This is your home, so bring 
the trophies of the chase 
back here. I prefer 
ducks, but I ’ll take any- 
thing. We’ll divide the spoils 
between us, and I ’ll take care 
that the good man who owns 
you don’t get the worst end 
of it.’ 

“ The eagle flew up. As soon 
as he was clear of the ground 
he lifted the glasses to his 
eyes and began his search for 
secluded ducks. Tom’s idea of 
using the field glasses evidently 
was a good one. Another eagle 
had been flying about, high in 


THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 63 

air, looking for game and not finding any. 
But the minute Tom’s bird was fairly up, 
with the increased field given him by the 
glasses, he saw a duck and started for it. 
Tom felt mighty proud over the success of 
his experiment. 

“ ‘ Men have talked about kindness to 
dumb creatures for years,’ he said, swelling 
out his chest. 4 But it was reserved for 
honest old Tom Ferguson to do something 
practical to aid poor, suffering eagles in 
winter time. With the aid of his own keen 
vision and those field glasses my pet can see 
any duck that is unlucky enough to stray 
into this part of the State. Ducks for the 
eagle and the reward of an approving con- 
science and good money for Tom Ferguson 
will be the results of my humane scheme.’ 

“ The duck that the trained eagle started 
after was evidently a long ways off, for it 
had been out of sight of the other eagle. 
But eagles are swift flyers, and it wasn’t 
long before Tom’s pet came winging back, 
the duck in his claws and the field glasses 


64 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

dangling from his neck. He deposited the 
duck in Tom’s yard. Then he started to eat 
it. But Tom did n’t see it that way. 

“ < You don’t seem to appreciate the fact 
that you owe me for board and lodging and 
training, besides the rent of the field glasses/ 
he remarked to the eagle. ‘ I have a lien on 
this and a good many other ducks. Just 
extend your pinions again and search for 
fresh victims for the Ferguson-Trained Eagle 
combination.’ 

“ The tame eagle did n’t seem over and 
above pleased at having the duck snatched 
away. But he was n’t a bad-hearted bird, 
and he evidently felt that there was some- 
thing due Tom for his trouble in training 
him. So off the eagle flew, and about an 
hour later returned with a second duck. 
This one Tom let him eat in peace. Through 
the day the eagle hunted, taking alternate 
ducks until he had eaten all that he cared 
for. Then Tom claimed all the birds that 
were captured, and the good-natured eagle 
didn’t make any protest. 



- /IDDflriS - 


“The eagle worked regularly.” 

































































































THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 67 

“ For nearly a month that eagle hunted 
for Tom Ferguson. The combination of an 
eagle’s naturally keen sight and a pair of 
good field glasses made it possible for him to 
spot any duck for miles around. The eagle 
worked regularly and caught more birds 
than half a dozen ordinary wild eagles. Tom 
was selling the ducks and making money 
fast. Then the inborn meanness of man 
cropped out and put an end to what promised 
to be a flourishing industry. 

“ 6 There is n’t any occasion for that bird to 
eat a whole duck every other time he returns 
from a hunting trip,’ Tom said to me one day. 
‘ I ’ve been at all the trouble and expense of 
training him and I ’m entitled to at least a 
duck and a half out of every two.’ 

u 6 There is n’t another eagle in the North 
Woods that would work for you the way 
that bird does,’ I told Tom. ‘ Not a day has 
he missed, and he has n’t once been late for 
work. If any one ever deserved a raise of 
pay that eagle of yours does. Even an eagle 
who uses a field glass won’t stand it to be 


68 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

imposed upon, and if you cut down the food 
supply there is sure to be trouble. An eagle 
that feels he has been gold-bricked is a mean 
customer to deal with/ 

“ But Tom allowed he could fix it so that 
the eagle would n’t know he was n’t getting 



his share of the ducks. So Tom took a 
trip to the city and bought a pair of spec- 
tacles, the kind that magnify. The next 
time the eagle brought back a duck Tom 
slipped the spectacles over his beak. Then 


THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 69 

he cut the duck in two and gave the eagle 
half of it. The other half he reserved for 
the use of ‘ honest old Tom Ferguson/ as 
he called himself. 

“ It was pathetic to see the puzzled, per- 
plexed expression on that poor eagle’s face 
when he commenced eating his half duck. 
He was accustomed to a whole duck, but the 
spectacles made the half look as big as a 
whole one. He looked at Tom as if he 
wanted advice on the subject. Tom did n’t 
say a word, but went on placidly smoking his 
pipe. That eagle trusted Tom Ferguson. 
When Tom did n’t make a move the eagle 
turned in and ate the half duck. He was n’t 
quite satisfied, though, for while it looked as 
if he had eaten his usual quantity of duck, 
his appetite showed him this wasn’t so. 
Then he flew off to catch more game for his 
selfish owner. 

“ ‘ That bird will never know the differ- 
ence/ said Tom, chuckling with glee as he 
watched the poor, hungry bird flying away. 
‘ And he will be a healthier and happier bird 


70 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

if lie keeps in good condition and does n’t 
overeat/ 

“ Tom was always careful to put the spec- 
tacles on the eagle before he fed him, and 
while the poor bird 
was growing thin, 
perhaps he would n’t 
have discovered the 
deceit if it had n’t 
been for an accident. 
One day, while the 
eagle was eating, a 
party of lumbermen 
went past the house. 
There was the eagle, 
spectacles on his 
beak, tearing away 
at half a duck. It 
certainly was a 
ridiculous sight, and the lumbermen laughed 
until they were most sick. An eagle hates to 
be laughed at, especially when he is eating. 
Tom’s pet stood it as long as he could. Then 
he raised his head with a quick motion as if 



THE SPECTACLED EAGLE 71 

he was considering whether to fly away or 
do battle with the men who were jeering at 
him. The little jerk he gave as he raised 
his head shook off the glasses. The eagle 
looked at the piece of duck, which seemed to 
have shrunk in size. Then he looked at the 
spectacles. After his experience in using 
field glasses he knew in an instant that he 
had been grossly deceived by Tom Ferguson, 
the man he had trusted and for whom he 
had worked so faithfully. 

“ Tom had seen the spectacles fall off and 
came running up to put them on again. But 
the enraged eagle was too quick for him. He 
flew up in the air, taking the spectacles with 
him. When he was about a hundred yards 
up he dropped the spectacles. They struck 
a stone and broke to pieces. Then the eagle 
flew up higher. He fumbled at the cord by 
which the field glasses were tied about his 
neck. In a moment with the help of his 
beak and claws he had cut through it. Then 
he sailed about in the air until he was 
directly over the place where he had been 


72 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


accustomed to deposit his ducks. He let go 
of the cord. The field glasses fell, striking 
almost at Tom Ferguson’s feet, and were 
smashed into a hundred pieces. The eagle 
gave one last look at the scene of his former 
labors and flew away to the north. 

“ Tom was wild with rage. 

“ ‘ Wicked, thieving, ungrateful bird,’ he 
shouted, shaking his fist at the rapidly dis- 
appearing eagle. ‘ Not content with striking 
in the middle of my busy season, you destroy 
my spectacles and field glasses, the capital 
that I had invested in the business.’ 

“ But no one had much sympathy for Tom 
Ferguson. 

“ ‘ It serves you right,’ said one of the 
lumbermen decidedly. 4 Any man who tries 
to deceive a poor eagle by means of half 
portions and spec- tacles deserves 

to have his plant wrecked when 

the strike WbL comes.’ ” 











UNCLE BILLY ATKINSON, 
who used to live near my farm 
out in Indiana, had the nucleus 
of a great industry in his rat- 
ferret, cable-laying combination,” 
said Squire Wilkins reminis- 
cently. “ But the spitefulness 
of Pete Johnson put an end to 
what promised to be a flourish- 
ing business. 

“ One afternoon Uncle Billy 
strolled down to the village, and, 
as he always took a heartfelt 
delight in seeing other people work, he put 
in most of the afternoon watching a gang 
of men lay a cable through a telephone 



76 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 



conduit. They could lay the 
cable through only one length 
of pipe at a time, and this was 
pretty slow work. By-and-by 
Uncle Billy had an idea. 

“‘It would be easier if you 
could put the cable through a 
whole row of pipes at once, 
would n’t it ? ’ he inquired. 

“ ‘ It certainly would,’ an- 
swered the foreman, sarcastic 
like. ‘ But that ’s a four-inch 
pipe, and the smallest man in 
my gang is eight inches thick. 
It’s against the rules of the 
company to send an eight-inch 
man through a four-inch pipe. 
It would be likely to strain the 
pipe.’* 

“ Uncle Billy did n’t say 
much, but it was evident he 
was doing some steady 
thinking. That afternoon 
I dropped over to his barn. 


THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 77 


The rats had been annoying him consider- 
ably, and Uncle Billy was hunting them with 
the aid of a ferret. At one end of the barn 
was a hole about four inches in diameter, 
and as fast as the rats were driven from the 
corn they would pike down that hole. 

After Uncle Billy had cleaned out [ 
the barn pretty well he sent the 
ferret down the hole. The rats had 
considerable to say for the next 

few minutes, but "X their re- 
marks did n't 



“Pike down that hole.” 


sound in the nature of a joyous welcome to 
the ferret. Pretty soon the ferret climbed 
out, a little bruised, but licking his lips, and 
with the self-satisfied air of a ferret who has 
done his work and done it well. Uncle Billy 
looked at the ferret admiringly. 

“ ‘ There is n’t another ferret in the State 


78 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


of Indiana that has the intelligence of this 
animal of mine/ said Uncle Billy compla- 
cently. ‘When your Uncle Billy brings a 
few rats, that ferret, and his own massive 
intellect into play, he ’s going to revolu- 
tionize the telephone-cable-laying industry/ 

“ The next day Uncle Billy caught a few 
big rats alive in a trap. After a little diffi- 
culty he managed to tie a long piece of cord 



“The beauty of a strenuous life.” 

about the body of each rat. Then he began 
training the ferret. He would let a rat loose 
on the floor of the barn. The ferret, after 
the manner of his race, would start right in 
giving the rat lessons on the beauty of a 
strenuous life. But Uncle Billy, with the 
aid of a fishing pole, would keep the ferret 
off until the rat got started down the hole. 
This method didn’t please the ferret, who 
had always supposed it was his duty to kill 



** Uncle Billy , accompanied by his trained ferret 








THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 81 

rats as quickly as possible, wherever he found 
them. But the ferret was an animal of 
unusual abilities, and it wasn’t long before 
Uncle Billy had impressed the idea on him 
that his play was to drive any rats he might 
see down the nearest hole. Then Uncle Billy 
judged the ferret’s education was complete. 

“ One afternoon Uncle Billy, accompanied 
by his trained ferret, and bearing on his arm 
a covered basket containing a number of rats 
with strings tied about their bodies, strolled 
down to where they were laying the tele- 
phone conduits. It was pretty slow work, 
and Uncle Billy looked on scornful-like. 

“ 6 Those eight-inch men of yours are doing 
the best they can,’ he finally said to the fore- 
man. ‘ But with the aid of a little invention 
of my own and this intelligent ferret, T can 
lay cables through a block of pipes at once.’ 

“ The foreman allowed that as a merry 
jester Uncle Billy was a success, but that 
he would n’t be able to cash in heavily at 
the cable-laying game. 

“ ‘ Go back to the farm, Uncle Billy,’ said 


82 STRE NUOUS ANIMALS 

the foreman, 6 raise butter and eggs, and 
listen to the merry song of the crows ; but 
don’t come down here interfering with the 
mysteries of electrical science.’ 

“ But, finally, as Uncle Billy was sure he 
could make good, the foreman agreed to give 
him a chance to try his invention. Uncle 
Billy took the end of one of the strings that 
was tied to a rat and fastened it to a stout 
rope. Then he tied the rope to a telephone- 
cable. He placed the trained ferret on the 
ground and released the rat. The ferret, 
instead of springing right on the rat, chased 
him about a bit, until the rat dodged into 
the end of the conduit. Then, as the rat 
came through the other end, one of the 
workmen seized the string, pulled it through, 
and then pulled through the rope and the 
length of cable. The whole thing was done 
in about a third of the time it ordinarily took 
to lay a length. Uncle Billy was tickled all 
the way through at the success of his plan. 

“ ‘ It ’s all right to talk about your electro- 
scientific mysteries,’ he said, triumphant like, 


THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 83 

‘ but, when it comes to actual results, an in- 
ventive genius with the help of a trained 
ferret can copper science every deal/ 

“ The foreman looked as if he did n’t quite 
want to admit all that, but he couldn’t deny 
that Uncle Billy’s plan had worked. 

“ ‘ The beauty of your Uncle Billy’s cable- 
laying combination,’ said Uncle Billy jubi- 
lantly, ‘ is that it will work as easily through 
ten lengths of pipe as through one.’ 

“ They made more tests, but it worked 
every time. The foreman finally asked Uncle 
Billy to try and put a new cable through in 
the main street, where there had been a break 
in the old one. But Uncle Billy hesitated a 
little. 

“ 1 The telephone company will be saved 
the expense of tearing up the street,’ he said 
doubtfully. 1 But I don’t see where I am 
getting anything out of the deal except the re- 
ward of an approving conscience and healthy 
exercise for the ferret. Both are good in 
their way, but hardly substantial enough.’ 

“ In the end Uncle Billy made a contract 


84 


STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


with the telephone company that brought 
him in more in a day than he could earn in 
a month on his farm. Things were pretty 
prosperous in Indiana about that time, al- 
most every town wanted an extension of its 
telephone-lines, and as the fame of his sys- 
tem for laying cables spread, 
Uncle Billy’s bank-roll grew 
to plethoric dimensions. 
Some of the other boys 
tried to work the same 
game ; but they did n’t 
have Uncle Billy’s 
knack for training 
ferrets, and the rats were 
either killed before they 
entered the conduits, or 
when they were only about 
half way through. Uncle Billy was pretty 
indignant at these attempts to cut into his 
business. 

“ ‘ By rights I ought to be able to get out 
a patent on my idea,’ he used to say. ‘ Of 
course, I ’m not really the inventor of ferrets, 



E was my 
modest genius, 


THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 85 

but it was my modest genius that first saw the 
possibilities of utilizing their dislike for rats/ 

“ If it had n’t been for the meaness and 
treachery of Pete Johnson, Uncle Billy to-day 
might be one of the richest men in the State. 
Pete and Uncle Billy formerly had been part- 
ners, but a little disagreement had severed 
their friendship, and Pete for months had 
been looking for a chance to get even. One 
day, when the faithful ferret was helping lay 
cables under the direction of Uncle Billy, Pete 
happened on the scene. 

“ 4 I thought all your laborers belonged to 
the union,’ he said to the foreman. 

44 The foreman allowed they did. 

44 4 They do ? ’ sneered Pete. 4 Well, I ’d 
like to know to what union that ferret be- 
longs. That ’s a scab ferret, a ferret that ’s 
taking the food and clothing out of the 
mouths of faithful union ferrets. It’s my 
belief that is an imported, pauper-labor 
ferret.’ 

44 Uncle Billy was mighty indignant at 
hearing his little worker abused. 


86 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ ‘ That ’s an American ferret, trained and 
educated by an honest American farmer. As 
to his being a non-union ferret, he’s presi- 
dent, secretary, and sole charter-member of 
Ferret’s Union No. 1. He ’s the pioneer and 
ancestor of a race of cable-laying ferrets.’ 

“ Pete, finding that he was n’t able to stir 
up any hard feeling against the ferret on the 
labor question, went away, growling and 
grumbling to himself. But it pained him to 
see all the good coin Uncle Billy was accumu- 
lating, and he kept puzzling his brain for 
some means of blocking the game. A few 
days later Uncle Billy took a contract to 
lay the cables through a conduit in a nearby 
town. He had grown so proud of his suc- 
cess that he boasted pretty freely, and Pete 
heard of the contract and went over to the 
town the day before Uncle Billy was to begin 
work. I warned Uncle Billy that Pete was 
up to some mischief. 

“ 6 Pete is n’t making that trip just to ar- 
range things comfortably for you,’ I told 
him. ‘You had better make some inspection 


THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 87 

of the conduits before you send your trusted 
ferret into them.’ 

“ But, no, it was the ferret’s business to 
look out for the conduit end of the work, 
and Uncle Billy was n’t going to disturb his 
head about it. The next day, when every- 
thing was ready for work, he released a rat, 
and the ferret chased it into the first conduit. 
In about a minute out came the rat, then 
came a skunk, and last of all, the ferret. 
But he looked pretty disgusted with his job. 

“ 6 The ferret has done what he considers 
a good day’s work under the circumstances,’ 
I said to Uncle Billy. 4 You had better let 
him have the rest of the day off.’ 

“ Uncle Billy did n’t see it that way and 
insisted on sending the ferret into another 
conduit. Pete had evidently done a thorough 
job, for the ferret looked even more weary 
when he came out of the second conduit than 
when be had left the first. The odor he 
gave out showed that he had good reasons 
for his disgust. When Uncle Billy tried to 
send him into a third conduit, even the faith- 


88 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

fill, hard-working ferret decided he had had 
enough of it. Then Uncle Billy lost his 
temper, and seizing a stick began beating 
the ferret. 

“ ‘ Do you think I brought you to this town 
just to have you give an exhibition of a ferret 
in a tantrum ? ’ said Uncle Billy angrily. 
‘ No ferret that is afraid of a few skunks 
will ever make his mark in the great world 
of ferrets.’ 

“ The ferret did n’t look at it in this light, 
and as Uncle Billy kept on beating him, he 
finally turned with a little snarl, bit Uncle 
Billy on the hand, and then scampered away 
at the top of his speed. Uncle Billy was 
almost heart-broken at the loss of his valued 
assistant, and seemed to think the ferret had 
been mighty ungrateful. 

“ ‘ I ’ve educated and cherished that ferret 
like a son,’ said Uncle Billy sorrowfully, 
‘ and now, on account of a few playful taps 
with a stick, he abandons me in the middle 
of a contract. Ingratitude, thy name is 
ferret/ 



“Bit Uncle Billy on the hand 



















































































































































































































THE CABLE-LAYING FERRET 91 

“ ‘ Your pet was n’t entirely to blame/ I 
told Uncle Billy severely. ‘ Even the most 
faithful of ferrets would draw the line on 
going against that odoriferous conduit-game 
three times in the same day.’ ” 




































Sp 




^OOAd* 






/ 



» 







•rnu tffisjls 


'F Eben Brown had kept his 
electric frog as a scientific 
wonder/’ said the old guide 
in pensive tones to the party 
gathered about the camp fire, 
“ that frog to-day might still 
be the admiration and delight of 
all his acquaintances. By trying 
to win money and bulldogs 
from Tom Wilson, Eben came to 
grief, and the frog to an untimely 
and regretted end. And it 
was the expression on the 
face of Uncle Sammy Evans which suggested 
to Tom the scheme that led to the death of 
the frog. 



96 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ Eben always was quite a hand for scien- 
tific experiments. One day, while he was 
fooling with an electric battery, he received 
a shock. The good man made a jump which 
showed that even if he was old he was agile. 
His interest in science died out for that day. 
He took his fishing-rod and wandered out 
into the woods. Just as he was about to 
seat himself in placid comfort on the bank 
of the pond, he happened to scare a big frog 
that had been sitting near. The frog jumped 
clear out into the pond, making a leap that 
was a long one, even for an active and 
alarmed frog. The long jump of the frog, 
combined with his own performance in the 
same line when he received the electric 
shock, suggested an idea to Eben. 

“ 4 If a frog without any external stimu- 
lus can make a jump like that/ he said 
thoughtfully, 4 what could he do if he came 
in contact with an electric battery ? Blamed 
if I don’t think he could establish a twentieth 
century record in the frog-leaping line.’ 

44 So Eben caught a few active young frogs 


THE PET FROG’S DOWNFALL 97 


and began his experiments. He soon found 
that under the influence of an electric shock 
a frog could do unlooked-for things in both 
long and high-distance jumping. 
But while it was an interesting 
enough experiment, Eben 
couldn't see where he was 



‘ What could he do 

if he came in contact 

with an electric battery?” 


getting any real benefit out of the game. 
Besides this, it was a good deal of bother 
fixing up the electric battery and carrying it 
over to where the frogs happened to be, even 
when the frogs would stay still and let Eben 
touch them with the wires. And they did n’t 


98 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

show any disposition to do this. One of 
the frogs was a good deal better jumper 
than the rest. Eben let the other frogs go, 
and set his ingenuity to work to try and 
contrive some plan whereby he could get the 
frog to give a jumping exhibition without 
the expenditure of so much effort on the 
part of Eben Brown. 

“ There ’s no denying Eben had talents as 
an electrical and mechanical expert. First 
he fixed up a tiny electric battery. Then he 
made a covering for the frog’s back, — a sort 
of miniature frog blanket. He could fix the 
battery under the blanket, and, except that 
the poor animal looked like a frog with an 
overcoat, a person would n’t have noticed any- 
thing peculiar in the appearance of that frog. 
Eben made a little hut for the frog, putting 
pieces of rubber under it, so as to insulate it. 
While the frog was in his house he would n’t 
get any shock from the battery, but as soon 
as he was placed on the ground it made a 
connection, and the abused creature would 
receive a painful and unpleasant surprise. 


THE PET FROG’S DOWNFALL 99 

“ Eben fixed the battery so that it would 
have power enough to give the frog three 
shocks before it was exhausted. Then he 
placed the frog on the ground. Of course, 
the instant the frog felt the 
electric current he jumped 
up in the air. As soon as 
he touched the ground again 
it re-established the connec- 
tion, and up went the frog. 

The third jump was the biggest 
of all. Then the battery was 
exhausted and the frog 
squatted on the ground, evi- 
dently in doubt whether to 
be irritated at the shocks 
or lost in admiration of his 
own jumping abilities. 

“Eben bought a pair 

of rubber gloves, and after „ A frog with an overcoat.” 
charging the battery he 
used to carry the frog from place to place, 
giving exhibitions of his pet's talents. While 
Eben was carrying the frog the rubber gloves 



L.ofC. 


100 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


prevented the making of a connection, and 
the frog looked like an ordinary overgrown 
and rather blase bullfrog. But when he 
was placed on the ground it was a revela- 
tion in frog agility. 

“ One day Eben, wearing his rubber gloves 
and carrying the frog in his hands, wandered 
down to Tom Wilson’s tav- 
ern. Tom had been away, 
Ml and had n’t heard of the 
V • q frog or its record-breaking 

' ArL- jumps. 
i /- a < And w j m j. might 

be the particular artistic 
value of that frog you are 
carrying about so tenderly ? ’ in- 
quired Tom in his sarcastic way. 

“ Eben allowed that the frog could out- 
jump anything in the State. Tom seemed 
sort of sceptical about this statement. 

“ ( Do you care to back up your opinion 
with good coin of the realm?’ he asked. 

“‘I’m no sure thing bettor,’ said Eben 
in his dignified manner, ‘ but I ’m willing to 



Torn Wilson. 


THE PET PKOCr’S DOWNFALL 101 

bet this frog against your prize bulldog that 
my pet can make not one, but three jumps, 
every one of them longer than that of any 
other frog in the county/ 

“If it had been a question of one jump 
Tom might have hesitated, but when Eben 
asserted his protege could make three record 
jumps Tom thought he had a sure thing. 



“Against your -prize bulldog 


So he hunted up a big bullfrog and brought 
him around in front of the tavern, where 
Eben and the rest of the boys were standing. 

“ ‘ If you ’re ready to lose your pet/ said 
Tom confident like, 6 take off his blankets, 
put him on the ground, and let him show 
what he can do.’ 

“ Eben said he did n’t want to take off the 
blanket. ‘ The poor animal might take cold/ 


102 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

he objected. ‘ It makes a handicap, but I ’d 
rather lose the bet than expose that trusting 
creature to the chilly air.’ 

“ Tom thought this gave him a better 
chance of winning, so he did n’t insist. He 
placed his frog on the ground, stirred him up 
with a stick, and the frog made his jump. 
It was a good long one, too, and Tom smiled 
in a superior, confident way as Eben set his 
champion on the ground. But the minute 
the electric frog touched the ground he 
sprang up higher than a man’s head. He 
did this again, and then a third time. Then 
he sat still, blinking in a contented, com- 
placent manner. Tom had to acknowledge 
that he had lost, and that the prize bulldog 
belonged to Eben. Tom felt rather suspi- 
cious about the performance, though. 

“ ‘ That frog is certainly a wonderful 
jumper,’ he said in tones of reluctant admi- 
ration, ‘ but what makes that queer expres- 
sion on his face when he is going through 
with his exhibition ? ’ 

“ ‘ That is a look of bland pleasure at the 


THE PET FROG’S DOWNFALL 103 


thought of the credit he is bringing to his 
worthy owner/ replied Eben. 

“ A couple of days later Tom Wilson called 
over at the house of Uncle Sammy Evans. 
Uncle Sammy was n't feeling well and was 
taking electric treatment, 
using a medical battery. The 
current was pretty strong 
and the look on Uncle 
Sammy’s face was n’t one 
of pure delight. After the 
current had been shut off 
Tom said : 

“ ‘ Do you know what the 
expression on your face just 
now reminded me of ? ’ 

“ 4 Of a good man in dis- 
tress/ answered Uncle Sammy 
promptly. 

“ ‘ Not exactly/ replied Tom. 1 It was the 
identical expression as that on the face of 
Eben Brown’s bullfrog when he was doing 
his high-jumping act.’ 

“ Somehow Uncle Sammy did n’t seem 



“ The look on 
Uncle Sammy’s face. 


104 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

over and above pleased at the comparison. 
But the more Tom Wilson thought of the 
similarity of expressions the more positive he 
was that electricity was in some way respon- 
sible for the wonderful leaps of the frog. 

“That evening, while Eben Brown was 
down at the store, Tom started his investiga- 
tion. He slipped into Eben’s barn and found 
the bullfrog dozing in his insulated hut. 
Tom took off the frog’s blanket. There he 
saw the little battery. He understood the 
mystery of the high jumps in a minute. 
And when he thought of the loss of his prize 
bulldog he was an angry individual. 

“ ‘ No electric motor bullfrog is going to 
be allowed to gold-brick me with impunity,’ 
Tom said to Uncle Sammy, who had accom- 
panied him. ‘If it ’s electricity that Eben 
Brown and his frog are looking for, I ’ll 
guarantee to give them all that is coming to 
them.’ 

“ Tom took the battery down to his 
house. There he charged it to about ten 
times its original strength. Then he carried 


THE PET FROG’S DOWNFALL 105 

it back and inserted it under the frog’s 
blanket. 

“ ‘ There, my goggle-eyed friend/ he said 
to the bullfrog. 6 This will teach you a les- 
son on the evils of trying to cheat honest 
Tom Wilson. The next time you are placed 
on the ground for a high-jumping exhibition 
you will think you are the principal actor in 
an electric chair drama.’ 

“ The next day Tom Wilson hunted up 
Eben Brown. 

“ 6 1 ’ve found a bullfrog/ he said, ‘ that I 
think can beat that vaunted pet of yours. 
So, unless you ’ve lost confidence in his abil- 
ities, you might give me a chance to win 
back my cherished prize bulldog.’ 

“ Eben was so sure nothing in the county 
could jump in the same class with his pro- 
tege that he agreed to another match. That 
afternoon he carried his frog down to Tom 
Wilson’s place. Tom had his frog on hand. 
It was only an ordinary frog from all appear- 
ances. Tom poked it with a stick. The frog 
made a jump. It was a fair jump for a full 


106 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

grown frog, but nothing extraordinary. Eben 
looked sympathetically at Tom. 

“ ‘ It ’s a shame to take a second prize 
bulldog won in such an easy manner/ he 
said in kindly tones. ‘ But it will teach you 
not to have so much confidence in the ability 
of yourself and your deluded, untrained frogs. 
The lesson will be worth numerous bulldogs. 
And I really need another one myself/ 

“ Eben put his jumping frog on the 
ground and waited to see it give three joyous 
leaps. Instead of jumping the frog gave a 
little quiver and then rolled over on his side. 
Eben .tried to stir him up with a stick, but 
the frog was beyond stirring. In his anxiety 
about his pet Eben forgot it was a sort of 
loaded frog. He pulled off his rubber gloves 
and picked the frog up. The instant he got 
the frog off the ground the good man received 
an electric shock that nearly sent him down. 

“ ‘ That poor creature died by electrocu- 
tion,’ he said sadly, when he had recovered, 
‘but I can’t understand how that battery 
happened to be charged so heavily.’ 



rdoh^s-T^-*- 

“ The good man received an electric shock.” 



THE PET FROG’S DOWNFALL 109 

“ He slipped on his rubber gloves and 
took the blanket off the frog. Then he 
saw that the battery had been overcharged. 
Looking up he saw a broad grin on Tom 
Wilson’s face. And the rest of the crowd 
seemed to think Eben was served right for 
trying to run in an electric motor frog. Eben 
realized in an instant what had happened. 
He was almost heartbroken. 

“ c The wickedness of Tom Wilson in 
electrocuting my cherished pet/ said Eben 
sadly, c has bowed my head with honest grief 
and robbed me of bulldog, bullfrog, and 
reputation.’ ” 



















# 








* 









































fHl 



HE Cape Cod fishermen don’t 
seem to be the men they once 
were,” said the old skipper 
sadly. “Not that the boys 
to-day are n’t industrious and 
willing to work. But they 
don’t appear to have the 
brains and foresight the men 
of a former generation did. Now take the 
case of honest old Capt. Enoch Wilson. He 
never overworked himself and always had 
time to join in a game of poker, or anything 
else that tended to uplift the community. 
Yet in one summer, with the help of his 
trained dogfish, he caught more fish than 
8 



114 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

some of the men now living hereabout do 
in a lifetime. 

“ Capt. Enoch was a natural-born philos- 
opher. When anything came up that both- 
ered him he did n’t get blue over it, or unduly 
exert himself. He just looked around for 
some way to turn it to his own advantage. 
If he was in a poker game and the other 
man held out a pair, did Capt. Enoch tear 
his hair and get out of the game ? No ; he 
just held out a better hand himself, and 
played it when the other fellow was expect- 
ing to win. He called this, in his pious 
way, ‘ making the wrath of men to praise 
him/ 

“ 4 How is a man better than a dumb beast,’ 
Capt. Enoch used to say, ‘ if he does n’t use 
his God-given powers to help him get on in 
the world without unnecessary exertion ? ’ 

“ One day, when Capt. Enoch took his 
boat, the ‘ Mary Bell,’ out for a fishing trip, 
he met the rest of the fleet coming back. 
The good old man was grieved at what he 
considered the laziness of his comrades. 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 115 

“ 6 How do you expect to make enough to 
support your family and join the game to- 
night if you stop work at this time of day ? ’ 
he shouted to Abner Simpkins. 

“ * There ain’t any use fishing to-day/ 
answered Abner, disgusted like. ‘ Those 
tarnation dogfish have driven away all the 
other fish.’ 

66 6 There ’s no occasion for using such 
words/ replied Capt. Enoch severely. ‘ Dog- 
fish have as much 
of a mission in the s 



world as lazy fisher- 
men. Everything in 
the world, even a 


“ Seed of some good in it.” 


bobtail flush, has 

the seed of some good in it/ 

“ I was with Capt. Enoch, and I noticed 
that all the way back to port he was doing a 
pretty heavy stunt at the thinking game. 

“ 6 A dogfish is nothing but a little shark/ 
said Capt. Enoch meditatively, as we were 
pulling up to the wharf, e and he ought not 
to get the better of a Cape Cod fisherman. 


116 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

The reason dogfish hurt the fishing is because 
they drive other fish away from the boats. 
But if a dogfish could be taught to drive 
fish towards a boat he would save a certain 
worthy but weary old fisherman a great 
deal of work and help swell that fisher- 
man’s bank account.’ 

“ 6 As you say, everything has a mission 
in the world,’ I answered doubtfully. 6 But 
with an extended acquaintance among Cape 
Cod dogfish I never met one that seemed to 
regard it as his mission to help out lazy fish- 
ermen. If you could organize a Fishermen’s 
Aid Society among the dogfish, there would 
be good money in it. It ’s considerable of 
a contract, though, for a man of your years 
to take up.’ 

“ 6 I ’m not thinking of starting a general 
dogfish kindergarten,’ said Capt. Enoch, sort 
of impatiently. ‘ That would be a lot of 
work, and would n’t help me any more than 
it did the rest of the fishermen. But it 
seems to me that a healthy young dogfish 
might be trained to drive fish towards 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 117 

the boat of his owner. It would give 
the dogfish the benefits of civilization and 
regular work, and be as much moral bene- 
fit for him as financial good for Capt. 
Enoch/ 

“ The next day Capt. Enoch went fishing 
for dogfish. There was n’t any trouble catch- 
ing all he wanted, but it was some time be- 
fore he captured one which he thought was 
young enough to be trained. Then he built 
a little pond with a sluice-way that the tide 
could come up through and put the dogfish 
in it. The dogfish did n’t seem to appreciate 
the benefits of training and civilization and 
sulked in one corner. Capt. Enoch was hurt, 
but not discouraged. 

“ ‘ When he gets good and hungry I ’ll feed 
him,’ he said cheerily. ‘ Little by little he 
will come to know and love the man who 
rescued him from a watery wilderness. And 
it won’t be long after that before he will per- 
ceive that the only way he can get anything 
to eat is by doing his duty and driving fish 
towards my boat.’ 


118 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ When the dogfish had grown pretty 
hungry, Capt. Enoch threw a small fish into 
the pond. The dogfish started after it. 
Capt. Enoch kept heading him off with a 
pole until finally the dogfish realized that 
before he got the fish he would have to drive 
it in the direction of Capt. Enoch. This was 
kept up day after day, and at last the dog- 
fish came to recognize that it was a case of 
driving fish first and eating afterwards. By 
this time he knew Capt. Enoch and wasn’t 
afraid of him. Then Capt. Enoch decided it 
was time to bring his fishing assistant out in 
the open. 

“ The next day Capt. Enoch took out the 
6 Mary Bell,’ carrying the dogfish in a little 
trough he had made in the bottom of the 
boat. When he reached the fishing grounds 
he tossed the dogfish out. Off the dogfish 
started, rounded up a small school of fish, 
and drove them towards the boat. Capt. 
Enoch threw in his line and caught a fish, 
while the dogfish grabbed another and began 
eating it on his own account. It was right 




44 Tossed the dogfish out.” 


* 


% 




i 







































































* 


























































































































































































































THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 121 

here Capt. Enoch’s Assisted Fishing Industry 
struck the first snag. 

“ As long as the dogfish was hungry he 
would drive fish towards the boat. As soon 
as his appetite was satisfied he would lay off 
and not do anything more in the fish-driving 
line until he was again hungry, which was a 
matter of several hours. So Capt. Enoch 
was n’t making much more out of it than if 
he had been fishing alone. When it began 
to grow dark the captain whistled to the 
dogfish. The well trained fish swam up t o 
the side of the boat. Capt. Enoch lifted him 
into the trough and sailed home. The good 
old captain was feeling pretty depressed. 

“ ‘ This well meaning but somewhat stupid 
fish-assistant of mine is all right when he is 
hungry/ said Capt. Enoch in gloomy tones. 

‘ But he does n’t seem to appreciate that the 
end and aim of this industry is fish for Capt. 
Enoch, not meals for a trained dogfish. 
Unless he develops an appetite for something 
besides fish, I don’t see where I ’m going to 
realize much out of the game.’ 


122 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ The captain stayed awake most of that 
night pondering over the subject, for he hated 
to think he had thrown away all the labor he 
had expended in training his pet dogfish. 
The next morning, though, when I called at 
his house, he was looking pretty cheerful. 

“ ‘ What is the best and most nourish- 
ing thing in the world ? ’ he asked almost 
gleefully. 

“ I was n’t certain. 

“ ‘ Some persons say whiskey is/ I re- 
sponded, sort of hesitatingly. ‘ For my own 
part, I prefer good old New England rum. 
Still, if you have both, I ’ll try each and 
then give an expert opinion.’ 

“ ‘ I don’t mean for men/ said Capt. Enoch 
hastily. ‘ It ’s fish, especially dogfish, that 
I ’m referring to. What do they give con- 
sumptives and people in need of nourishment? 
Funerals ? Of course not. Cod liver oil in 
large quantities is fed to them. It seems 
to me that it would n’t take long for my 
civilized dogfish to acquire a decided taste for 
cod liver oil, it being a fishy product. And 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 123 

when he once has the cod liver oil habit, he 
will find that the only way to obtain the 
longed-for stimulant is by doing a good day's 
work driving fish towards the boat of old 
Capt. Enoch.' 

“ So, instead of taking the trained dogfish 
out on fishing trips, Capt. Enoch kept him 
shut up in the little pond until the fish was 
remarkably hungry. Then he offered him a 
liberal dose of cod liver oil. But a taste for 
cod liver oil seems to be an acquired one, even 
with trained dogfishes, and Capt. Enoch’s pet 
just sniffed at the oil and retired to a corner 
of the pond in disgust. Capt. Enoch went 
away and did n’t come near the pond again 
until the next morning. The dogfish was 
on hand, ravenously hungry. Capt. Enoch 
again offered him the cod liver oil. The 
poor dogfish looked up with a pathetic 
grieved expression. Then he gulped down 
a little of the oil. But he did n’t show any 
evidences of hilarious delight. 

“ 6 He may not like it now,’ said Capt. 
Enoch calmly, ‘but a good many people 


124 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

don’t at first. It won’t be long, though, 
before he will turn up an indignant nose 
at any fish which has n’t been flavored with 
cod liver oil.’ 

“ Sure enough, at the end of a week the 
dogfish would take his cod liver oil without 
showing any particular signs of disgust. It 
was n’t long after that before he would hardly 
look at a fish unless Capt. Enoch had flavored 
it with a little oil dressing. And when he 
could get a drink of pure cod liver oil, he 
was the happiest, most contented dogfish 
along Cape Cod. He. would take the oil in 
his mouth and swallow it down slowly, so 
as to get the full benefit of the flavor. Then 
he would swim placidly about the pond, 
waving his fins gently, and with an expres- 
sion of pure delight on his face. When the 
dogfish’s appetite for the oil had reached this 
stage Capt. Enoch determined it was time to 
begin the fishing expeditions again. 

“ ‘ Loving care and several quarts of good 
cod liver oil have been lavished on you, my 
sharkish-looking friend/ he said to the dog- 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 125 


fish. ‘ Now it is up to you to do a little fish- 
ing stunt. For you will get no more oil 
until you have done a good day’s work for 
your trainer and benefactor.’ 

u He put the dogfish in the trough in the 
bottom of the ‘ Mary Bell ’ and sailed to 
the fishing grounds. When he reached them 
he showed the dogfish the bottle of cod liver 



“A little fishing stunt.” 


oil and then pointed to the water. Then he 
threw the fish in. The dogfish hung around 
the boat a little while, evidently trying to 
show that he would like his cod liver oil 
before he began work. But Capt. Enoch 
waved his hand towards the fishing grounds 
as if to indicate that it was fish first and oil 
# later. So the dogfish swam off and pretty 
soon had driven a school of fish towards the 


126 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

‘ Mary Bell/ He appreciated that it was his 
duty to keep them there as long as Capt. 
Enoch wanted to fish, and he swam round 
and round that school of fish, rounding them 
up as a shepherd dog does sheep. Capt. 
Enoch pulled in fish as fast as he could 
handle the line, until the ‘Mary Bell* was 
half full. Then the captain drew in his 
line and whistled to the dogfish. The faith- 
ful creature swam up to the boat. Capt. 
Enoch put him in the trough and gave him 
a big drink of cod liver oil. 

“ ‘ Take a good drink, my cherished pet/ 
said Capt. Enoch, as if the dogfish could 
understand him. ‘ The oil costs money, but 
the fish will sell for a good deal more. No 
one can say that honest old Capt. Enoch 
begrudges his faithful assistant a drink of 
cod liver oil, — though for my own part I 
prefer other beverages.’ 

“Each took a liberal drink of what he 
liked best. The dogfish curled up content- 
edly in his trough, and Capt. Enoch steered • 
the ‘ Mary Bell’ back to Wellfleet, where 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 127 

he disposed of the biggest catch of the 
season. 

“ All through that summer the dogfish 
worked for Capt. Enoch, and day after day 
the ‘ Mary Bell ’ returned to port loaded down 
with fish. After a time Capt. Enoch got out 
of the habit of shutting up the dogfish in the 
pond at night. 

“ * That fish is tame and don’t care to leave 
his happy pondside,’ said Capt. Enoch. 4 He 
knows that the only place where he can get 
oil, which gladdens the hearts of dogfishes, is 
from honest old Capt. Enoch. There is no 
danger of his running away. And it is a 
nuisance to be letting him in and out of the 
pond.’ 

“ But it was this lazy good nature on the 
part of Capt. Enoch that caused him the loss 
of his trained dogfish. One day, while the 
dogfish was driving fish towards the ‘ Mary 
Bell,’ Capt. Enoch noticed that there was 
another dogfish, evidently a female, hang- 
ing around. The captain was pleased at 
this. 


128 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

u 6 My pet will marry, settle down, and 
live a respectable life,’ be remarked compla- 
cently. 6 The result will be a lot of little 
dogfishes who will look to Capt. Enoch for 
their cod liver oil and in return will add to 
the profits of the fishing industry. Within a 
few years I will be able to organize a Dogfish 
Fishing Trust and control every market along 
the Atlantic coast.’ 

“ One morning, after a pretty steady stunt 
of work, the dogfish swam up to the boat and 
got a drink of oil. Then he swam to where 
the female was. She poked her nose near 
his mouth. It was plain she was smelling of 
his breath. Then she gave a disgusted flirt 
to her tail and swam away. The trained 
dogfish followed and tried to explain things. 
But she would n’t listen to him, and he re- 
turned to the ‘ Mary Bell ’ with a mighty 
saddened expression. 

“ The next day the dogfish would n’t touch 
the cod liver oil. It was evident he was 
making himself popular with the female, 
though far from comfortable himself. The 




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THE OIL-LOVING BOG FISH 131 

day after that he yielded to temptation and 
took an unusually large quantity of oil. 
The female would n’t look at him. He swam 
back disconsolately to the boat and drowned 
his grief in cod liver oil, which Capt. Enoch 
handed out in liberal quantities. 

“ 6 Women never did man or fish any 
good/ said Capt. Enoch, who was a con- 
firmed old bachelor. ‘ That is a Delilah dog- 
fish. She is trying to lead you astray, 
attempting to persuade you to abandon the 
man who trained you. Take a good drink 
and forget her.’ 

“ The trained dogfish filled up on cod liver 
oil. The next morning it was plain that he 
had a pale yellow taste and a troubled con- 
science. When he reached the fishing grounds 
the female was waiting for him. A man 
did n’t need to be an expert in fish nature to 
see that she was laying down the law, telling 
him that he would have to choose between 
her and the cod liver oil. Capt. Enoch saw 
that his protege was wavering and held the 
bottle of cod liver oil over the side of the 


132 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


boat. The dogfish saw it. He was on the 
verge of yielding to temptation and had be- 
gun to swim slowly towards the ‘ Mary Bel 1/ 



But the 
female 
got in front 
of him, looked at 
him in the most re- 
proachful manner, 
and putting a fin over 
him tried to turn him 
„ His appetite for 
cod liver oil wasn’t strong enough 
^ to conquer that appeal. The love- 
« She rvas laying lorn dogfish gave one last lonff- 

down the law,” * 11 ,. ® 

ing look at the oil, then turned 
tail and swam out to sea at the top of his 
speed. He was fleeing from temptation. 


THE OIL-LOVING DOGFISH 133 

“ Capt. Enoch gave a sigh and began haul- 
ing in his line. 

“ ‘ Another good fish gone wrong/ he said 
sorrowfully. ‘ Another promising career 
ruined by feminine influences.’ ” 





















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JL 

'jjj 


CMECKERPtWER- 


IGHTY few men are good 
players of both checkers and 
poker,” said Uncle Zack 
Rogers pensively. “So it 
seems to me that Elder 
Allison was harsh in his 
severe condemnation of 
his pet bear when he found that that once 
pious animal had mixed up the two games. 
The bear might have been redeemed from 
paths of sin if the Elder hadn’t been so 
hasty. As it was, the bear, after enduring 
a few hard buffets from the good Elder, fled 
to a life of careless vice. And he was such 
a good bear at first. 


138 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


“ Elder Allison had picked up the bear 
when only a cub in the woods one day. 

Some hunters had shot its 
mother, and it was a very 
hungry and lonely furry 
baby. The Elder took 
the bear home with 
him, fed him, and sort 
of adopted him as 
a member of the 
family. When the 
bear began to grow 
a little it was evi- 
dent that all bets 
on bear intelli. 
gence wanted 
to be coppered 
if they were 
made against 
the Elder’s 
pet. He had 
the rest of his 
kindred chained 
to the post when it came to knowing how 



“ A lonely furry baby.’ 


AN URSINE CHECKER-PLAYER 139 

to do things and do them well. Ordinary 
bear-tricks were so easy for that intelligent 
animal that he never had to be shown them 
more than once ; but Elder 
Allison, who was a pillar in 
the village church, 
would n’t teach his pet 
any ordinary bear-tricks. 

He said they were 6 frivolous 
and an abomination to the 
truly good.’ And Elder Allison 
ranked Class A in that division. 

“ The good Elder had only 
one real diversion, and that 
was playing checkers. Any _ - 
time he could get up a game 
of checkers he was a happy man, especially 
if there was a small bet on the side. Some 
of the church people were sort of scandalized 
at the Elder’s taking these bets; but the good 
man defended himself against any charge of 
gambling. 

“ 6 What ’s your definition of gambling ? ’ 
he asked, anxious like, of the minister, when 




140 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

that worthy man took him to task for betting 
on his favorite game. 

“ ‘ Gambling is betting on a game of 
chance/ answered the minister prompt like. 

“ ‘ To be sure, to be sure/ said Elder Alli- 
son in mighty satisfied tones. 6 That was 
what I thought myself. Well, it isn’t any 
game of chance when the boys around here 
play with me. The only reason they win at 
all is that I like to make things a little inter- 
esting and keep them at the game. I was 
sure in my own mind that I wasn’t gam- 
bling, but I ’m mighty glad to have your 
indorsement, pastor.’ 

“ And Elder Allison marched off with the 
satisfied air of a man who has got the com- 
mendation of the church on an innocent 
recreation. The pastor seemed puzzled and 
not wholly satisfied. 

“ After a while it got so that all the boys 
were sort of reluctant about playing checkers 
with the Elder. Even when there wasn’t 
any betting on the game they did n’t care 
to play, for the Elder always won. The 


AN URSINE CHECKER-PLAYER 141 

Elder found it sort of lonely without his 
favorite game. One evening the thought 
came to him that he could teach his pet 
bear to play the game. The more he pon- 
dered over the scheme the more satisfied he 
was that it would be a success. 

“ 6 Checkers is n’t a game to be lightly 
approached by man or beast/ he remarked 
sort of doubtfully to the bear; ‘ but you seem 
to have the intelligence of two ordinary men, 
my furry pet, and, besides, have had the ben- 
efit of association from cubhood with one of 
the worthiest men in this part of the State. 
I don’t see why, with a little practise, you 
could n’t become the second-best checker- 
player in town. It would be a pleasure for 
me, a privilege for you, and perhaps, if later 
on we could get some of the boys to make a 
few small bets against you, there might be 
profit in it for the good man who owns 
you/ 

“ The bear nodded his head at the end of 
this little speech, as if he understood every 
word of it. Probably he did, being as I 


142 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

have said a bear that could make his mark 
anywhere in the great world of bears. So 
the Elder got down the checkerboard and 
began teaching his pet the game. 

“ The good bear was as apt a pupil as the 
Elder could have found in the whole county. 
Besides his natural bear intellect, he had 
watched the Elder’s games night after night, 
so that he practically understood the whole 
thing before his lessons were begun. In a 
week the bear could play a fair game. In 
a month there was n’t a person in the town, 
except Elder Allison, who could beat him. 
And sometimes the intelligent bear would 
score a victory over the Elder. But he soon 
learned that this was n’t healthy and meant 
reduced rations. The Elder was a worthy 
and pious man ; but he could n’t stand it to 
be beaten, especially by his own bear. 

“ ‘ How much sharper than a serpent’s 
tooth is an ungrateful bear,’ the Elder used 
to sigh after the bear had won a victory over 
him at checkers. ‘ Probably you cheated 
when I was n’t looking, or you could n’t 



« Followed by a Mg and unusually intelligent-looking bear. 















AN URSINE CHECKER-PLAYER 145 

have won that game. I guess you had 
better go without breakfast to-morrow to 
teach you that the way of the transgressor 
is hard when he is found out/ 

“ Any one who cheated the Elder in a 
game of checkers could have stolen a buzz- 
saw in motion ; but, as the Elder had charge 
of the rations, the good bear soon learned 
that such victories were unprofitable. 

“Just about the time the Elder thought 
he had his bear well trained at the checker- 
game, and that it was about time for him to 
try and get a few bets from the rest of the 
boys against the bear, he was called to the 
city on important business which would prob- 
ably keep him away about three months. 
He could n’t very well take the bear with 
him, for, even if the railroad company 
would n’t object, it would look queer to go 
trapesing about the city followed by a big 
and unusually intelligent-looking bear. So 
the Elder hunted up Deacon Stebbins, and 
confided the bear to his care. 

“ 6 That precious animal is the apple of my 
10 


146 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

eye/ said the Elder earnestly, as he turned 
the bear over to Deacon Stebbins. 6 Guard 
him tenderly, and be especially careful that 
he does n’t get into any bad habits. Intel- 
lectually he can look out for himself, but 
I ’m afraid for his moral nature after my 
guidance is removed.’ 

“ Deacon Stebbins promised he would be a 
father to the bear during the Elder’s absence. 
So the Elder went on his journey rejoicing in 
the thought that he had left his pet in worthy 
hands. 

“ Now Deacon Stebbins, while a good man 
in many ways, was a sort of a whited sep- 
ulchre, too. He was one of the pillars of 
the church, and generally strong in reform 
movements, but the Deacon had a weakness 
for the national game of poker. Once or 
twice a week he used to drop down to Hal 
Jenkins’ tavern and take a hand in a little 
game in one of the back rooms. The game 
was kept very much on the quiet; so this 
never injured the Deacon’s reputation, al- 
though it often dented his bank-roll, he not 


AN URSINE CHECKER-PLAYER 147 

being the player Hal Jenkins and some of 
the rest of the boys were. Not liking to 
leave the precious bear at home, the Deacon 
used to take him with him in these little 
excursions into haunts of vice. Of course 
the talents of the bear made him popular 
with the boys at the tavern poker-room, he 
being a bear that would have won social 
success in any city, and the more Hal Jen- 
kins saw of the bear the more determined he 
was to possess him, permanently, if he could ; 
if not, then temporarily. 

“ At first Hal tried to buy the bear, but of 
course Deacon Stebbins had no authority to 
sell the Elder’s cherished pet. Then Hal 
wanted to rent the bear at a mighty liberal 
figure until Elder Allison returned ; but 
Deacon Stebbins would n’t hear of this. He 
sort of hinted, too, that he was afraid the 
pious bear’s moral nature might be corrupted 
by too much contact with Hal, whose heart 
was rather set on things of this world. This 
did n’t please Hal overmuch and made him 
more determined to get the bear. 


148 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

“ So Hal took two or three of the rest of 
the boys into partnership, and they laid for 
the good Deacon. As a result of having so 
many house-players against him, it was n’t 
long before the Deacon had lost most of his 
ready money. Then Hal loaned him some. 
This went, too. Hal kept this up until he 
had the Deacon pretty well tangled up in 
debt. Then one day he suggested, casual 
like, that he needed the money. The Deacon 
did n’t have it. 

“ 4 Then I ’m afraid I ’ll have to sue for it,’ 
said Hal, in a kind of ugly way. 

44 Of course, this landed mighty hard on 
the good Deacon. Hal probably could n’t 
recover on a gambling debt, but he could put 
the Deacon’s reputation with the truly good 
back a good many miles. After Hal had the 
Deacon well scared, he sprang his proposition 
on him. 

44 4 1 tell you what I ’ll do, Deacon,’ he said 
in a more kindly tone. 4 If you will let me 
have that bear until Elder Allison returns, 
I ’ll call our little account square. When the 


AX TJRSIXE CHECKER-PLAYER 149 

Elder gets back, I will turn the bear over to 
you, and the Elder won’t know he has been 
absent from your fostering care.’ 

“ Deacon Stebbins was pretty joyous at 
getting out of the debt on these terms. He 
turned the bear over to Hal Jenkins, remark- 
ing as he did it that the bear’s long suit was 
playing checkers. Hal snorted at this. 

“ ‘ Checkers ! ’ he said, mighty contemptu- 
ous like. ‘ That ’s no game for either man or 
bear of his talents. I ’ll teach this cherished 
pet of Elder Allison’s how to play a man’s 
game. When the Elder returns and finds 
his bear the best poker-player in the county 
his heart ought to bubble over with gratitude 
towards Hal Jenkins; but I ain’t by any 
means sure that it will.’ And Hal chuckled 
in a pleased way to himself, there being small 
love lost between him and the Elder. 

“ Of course, as soon as the bear was a little 
used to his new home he wanted to show off 
his talents in the checker-playing line, being 
justly proud of them. But Hal just laughed 
at the good bear. The intelligent animal 


150 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 


went around for a few days with a grieved 
and hurt look on his face. But Hal fed him 
well and petted him and, to make up for the 
loss of checkers, started in to teach the bear 
poker. Maybe he was a bad bear at heart, 
and maybe it was just his won- 
derful intelligence ; but it took 
the bear even less time to 
learn to play poker 
than it had to learn 
y checkers, and he 
seemed to enjoy it a 
good deal more, too, which 
makes me think that at 
the bottom he was a sort 
of Tenderloin bear and not 
the truly good creature he 
appeared at first acquaintance. Anybody 
who doubted the bear’s ability as a poker- 
player had only to sit in a game with him 
once. He did n’t need to sit twice. And 
generally he didn’t have the money to. 

“ ‘ Such a bear ! such a bear ! ’ said Hal 
Jenkins in an admiring way one evening 



** A yrirVid 
and hurt look. 


AN URSINE CHECKEIl-PLAYER 151 

after the furry gambler had bluffed him out 
of a big pot. ‘ No one would think to look 
at your innocent, bland countenance that you 
possess the guile you do. If you had only 
lived in the old Mississippi-river-steamboat 
times you would have been worth a fortune 
to the man who owned you.’ ‘ 

“ And just as the bear had about developed 
into the best poker-player in town Elder 
Allison returned from the city. 

“ Of course, there was nothing for Hal 
Jenkins to do but to return the hear to Dea- 
con Stebbins, who turned him over to the 
Elder. The Elder took his pet home with 
him, the faithful animal showing signs of 
unfeigned joy at the return of his old master. 
That evening the Elder thought he would 
have a game of checkers. 

“ ‘ Now we 'll have a little game/ he re- 
marked complacent like, 4 just to see how 
much you have deteriorated during my 
absence.’ 

“ The bear trudged over to the place where 
he knew a pack of cards was kept. In the 


152 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

meantime the Elder got out the checker- 
board and set the pieces. The bear shuffled 
the cards and dealt out poker-hands. Each 
was busy and did not notice what the other 
was doing until the good Elder moved one of 
his pieces — he always liking to have the 
first move. Then each looked at the other 
mightily amazed. 

“‘You may think we need the cards for 
counters/ snarled the Elder, sort of impa- 
tiently; ‘but we don’t. We’ll only play 
two or three games, and of course I ’ll take 
them all.’ 

“But the bear was as surprised as the 
Elder. He had forgotten all about checkers. 
He looked at the pieces sort of puzzled. 
Then he noticed the one piece that the Elder 
had pushed forward. That seemed to en- 
lighten him some, though not entirely. 

“ ‘ I see the one check you have bet/ 
he seemed to be saying to himself, ‘ but 
why do you scatter the rest about the 
board, instead of stacking them like a 
Christian ? ’ 














* 


























AX IJRSIXE CHECKER-PLAYER 155 

“ The bear never was much of a conversa- 
tionalist. He took another peep at his cards. 
Then he gathered up his checker pieces, slid 
one out by the piece the Elder had put for- 
ward and stacked up ten of the others along 
side of it. It was plain that he was seeing 
the Elder’s supposed bet and raising it 
ten. 

“ The Elder looked at this strange proceed- 
ing in amazement. Then he noticed the five 
cards the bear was holding and the way the 
checker-men were staked up. His look 
changed to one of holy horror. 

“ ‘ Wicked, depraved bear ! ’ he thundered. 
6 Is this the way you put in your time while 
I was away ? Learning games of chance, 
after my careful efforts to keep you from 
gambling ! It ’s penitence, and a short chain, 
and hard bumps that will be coming to you 
until you appreciate that the way of the 
transgressor is hard, and that it is the duty 
of every good bear to stick to the game at 
which his master can win.’ 

“At that the Elder grabbed a big stick 


156 STRENUOUS ANIMALS 

and began pounding the bear. At first the 
bear seemed hurt, mentally as well as physi- 
cally. He had been mighty proud of his 
poker-playing ability and now to be pounded 
for it! But the Elder kept on showering 
hard words and harder blows. At last the 
poor bear gave a sort of sullen growl and 
rushed out of the doorway ; but even then he 
turned back in a doubtful way, as if he hated 
to leave his old master. 

“ ‘ Leave my house forever/ shouted the 
Elder, who had evidently been at the theatre 
while in the city. ‘ Never darken my door 
until you have forgotten all you know 
about poker and can bring forth fruits 
worthy of repentance in the checker-playing 
line/ 

“ The outcast bear looked down the vil- 
lage street. He could see the lights in Hal 
Jenkins’ tavern. There he would not be 
beaten and abused. There his talents as a 
poker-player would be praised and appreci- 
ated. He looked back once more at the 
house. The Elder continued his abuse. The 


AN URSINE CHECKER-PLAYER 157 

once good bear gave a little bear sigh. Then 
he shambled off towards the tavern, no longer 
the pet of a pillar of the church, but a poker- 
playing, gambling bear, the last addition to 
the ursine Tenderloin.” 


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